Got a couple reel-to-reel recorders the other day...

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WhinyLittleRunt

WhinyLittleRunt

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Nothing special, but I scored a Sony TC-252-D and a Realistic 494 from a friend at work who grabbed them for me at a tag sale. :)





So, I know these are basic, home-brew tape recorders but can I do anything cool with them? I don't have any tape for them yet- that's my next venture. The Realistic is a quad with 3 heads, and the Sony is a 2 head that can do 4 track recording but it isn't true 4 track...

I'm also looking for a manual for the Realistic... I caught this in the 1975 Radio Shack catalog for 329.95 new :)
 
"4-Track" meant you could turn the tape over and have two tracks playing in the opposite direction. These are simple stereo, home hi-fi devices, to use like you uysed a cassette recorder. Everybody had one of these when I was young. Never heard of the Realistic, it sems to have some extra inputs on the left but probably no "Sound on Sound" or "Multiplay" options.
 
If they operate at 3 3/4 ips, they'll be great for tape echo :)
 
The Radio Shack has two sets of VU meters. It must be Quad, like teh Sony 277-4 I used to have. You may be able to record a stereo pair on "Front" and then monitor that and record a stereo pair on "Rear" (if that is the term used on this deck) So it is a pseudo multitrack although probably not designed with that in mind. With outboard NR, 3 3/4 isn't too bad. Get some Ampex 642 and try it out!
 
Blue Jinn said:
The Radio Shack has two sets of VU meters. It must be Quad, like teh Sony 277-4 I used to have. You may be able to record a stereo pair on "Front" and then monitor that and record a stereo pair on "Rear" (if that is the term used on this deck) So it is a pseudo multitrack although probably not designed with that in mind. With outboard NR, 3 3/4 isn't too bad. Get some Ampex 642 and try it out!
Click to expand...

If it's a 3-head deck without simul-sync, tracking on it may lead to amusing and/or disconcerting results.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
If it's a 3-head deck without simul-sync, tracking on it may lead to amusing and/or disconcerting results.
Click to expand...

Good point, that Sony only had two heads, so it sync'd by default, it was either "play" or "record"
 
lo.fi.love said:
If they operate at 3 3/4 ips, they'll be great for tape echo :)
Click to expand...

The Realistic does have that option, and it is a 3-head deck. So I was definitely interested in converting it! How simple of an operation is it to get one of these things to become an echo device?
 
WhinyLittleRunt said:
The Realistic does have that option, and it is a 3-head deck. So I was definitely interested in converting it! How simple of an operation is it to get one of these things to become an echo device?
Click to expand...

There's no need to modify the deck itself. I do tape echo using my mixer.
 
lo.fi.love said:
There's no need to modify the deck itself. I do tape echo using my mixer.
Click to expand...

Mind explaining your setup and how the mixer gets incorporated in? I've been doing some reading on the subject and would be curious to know exactly how you have it hooked up..
 
WhinyLittleRunt said:
Mind explaining your setup and how the mixer gets incorporated in? I've been doing some reading on the subject and would be curious to know exactly how you have it hooked up..
Click to expand...

Not at all :) I've actually been meaning to write a detailed blog article about this topic, would you mind waiting a couple of days while I put it together?
 
lo.fi.love said:
Not at all :) I've actually been meaning to write a detailed blog article about this topic, would you mind waiting a couple of days while I put it together?
Click to expand...

A whole blog? Aux send to tape in, tape out to input channel, set the machine to tape monitor. For multiple repeats turn up the aux send on the return channel. There.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
A whole blog? Aux send to tape in, tape out to input channel, set the machine to tape monitor. For multiple repeats turn up the aux send on the return channel. There.
Click to expand...

Gosh, you showed me!

Some people still stumble on the simple explanation. I've been asked to explain it numerous times and I think a practical example would be helpful.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
A whole blog? Aux send to tape in, tape out to input channel, set the machine to tape monitor. For multiple repeats turn up the aux send on the return channel. There.
Click to expand...

Wow... I feel totally stupid now :-/ So really I can use any mixer for this then... I'll wait for the write up. I still have time to clean up the heads etc.
 
lo.fi.love said:
Gosh, you showed me!

Some people still stumble on the simple explanation. I've been asked to explain it numerous times and I think a practical example would be helpful.
Click to expand...

I suppose more info wouldn't hurt.
 
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